Snowflakes and Spider Silk

Title;  Strangers Among Us: Tales of the Underdogs and Outcasts Editor:  Susan Forest Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, urban fantasy, anthology My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: There's a delicate balance between mental health and mental illness… Who are STRANGERS AMONG US? We are your fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and lovers. We staff your stores, cross your streets, and study in your schools, invisible among you. We are your outcasts and underdogs, and often, your unsung heroes. Nineteen science fiction and fantasy authors tackle the division between mental health and mental illness; how the interplay between our minds' quirks and the diverse societies and cultures we live in can set us apart, or must be concealed, or become unlikely strengths. We find troubles with Irish fay, a North Korean cosmonaut's fear of flying, an aging maid dealing with politics of revenge, a mute boy and an army of darkness, a siste...

Title:  The Ghosts of Heaven Author:  Marcus Sedgwick Genre: Young adult, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, anthology My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : A bold, genre-bending epic that chronicles madness, obsession, and creation, from the Paleolithic era through the Witch Hunts and into the space-bound future. Four linked stories boldly chronicle madness, obsession, and creation through the ages. Beginning with the cave-drawings of a young girl on the brink of creating the earliest form of writing, Sedgwick traverses history, plunging into the seventeenth century witch hunts and a 1920s insane asylum where a mad poet's obsession with spirals seems to be about to unhinge the world of the doctor trying to save him. Sedgwick moves beyond the boundaries of historical fiction and into the future in the book's final section, set upon a spaceship voyaging to settle another world for the first time. Merging Sedgwick's gift for suspense with science- ...

Title:  The Very Best of Kate Elliott Author:  Kate Elliott Genre: Fantasy, Science fiction, anthology My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary : Strong heroines and riveting storytelling are the hallmark of groundbreaking fantasy author Kate Elliott ("Crown of Stars," "Crossroads"). Elliott is a highly-compelling voice in genre fiction, an innovative author of historically-based narratives set in imaginary worlds. This first, retrospective collection of her short fiction is the essential guide to Elliott's shorter works. Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends. In "The Memory of Peace," a girl's powerful emotions rouse the magic of a city devastated by war. Meeting in "The Queen's Garden," two princesses unite to protect their kingdom from the blind ambition of their corrupted father. While "Riding the Shore of the River of Death" a ...

Title:  Rogues Editor:  George R.R. Martin Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, contemporary My rating: 5 of 5 stars Goodreads summary : If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R.R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire. This is one of the best and most consistent anthologies I've ever read! Most anthologies have their gems and their disappointments, and a bunch of lukewarm stories, but this one was almost entirely enjoyable and the gems were some of my favorite stories by those authors. I started o...

Title:  Stone Mattress: Nine Tales Author:  Margaret Atwood Genre: Literary fiction, speculative fiction, short story anthology My rating: 3 of 5 stars Goodreads Summary: A recently widowed fantasy writer is guided through a stormy winter evening by the voice of her late husband. An elderly lady with Charles Bonnet’s syndrome comes to terms with the little people she keeps seeing, while a newly-formed populist group gathers to burn down her retirement residence. A woman born with a genetic abnormality is mistaken for a vampire. And a crime committed long-ago is revenged in the Arctic via a 1.9 billion year old stromatalite. In these nine tales, Margaret Atwood ventures into the shadowland earlier explored by fabulists and concoctors of dark yarns such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Daphne du Maurier and Arthur Conan Doyle – and also by herself, in her award-winning novel Alias Grace. In Stone Mattress, Margaret Atwood is at the top of her darkly humorous and seriously ...